Facebook To Become A Part Of The Workplace In 2016

Scrolling through Facebook Inc FB while at work used to be frowned upon by employers, but a new version of the social media site could make using Facebook while working a necessity. The social media giant is planning to launch Facebook at Work, a modified, corporate version of its service in 2016.

How It Works

The new offering will allow users to create an entirely new persona for their work account and use Facebook's features like messaging, events, news feed and sharing for work-related topics. The difference will be that only those working within the same company will have access to co-workers shared material.

What's Different?

The site is geared toward businesses, so there won't be any ads or game invitations. Instead, it will be designed to facilitate information sharing between employees working at the same firm.

The service will have tighter security and Facebook has also updated its color scheme in order to distinguish between the social site and the work-based site.

Will It Work?

Many are skeptical about whether or not Facebook can pull off a corporate communication site, but the company's initial testing appears to have been successful.

Back in January, Facebook rolled out a pilot version of its new service and over 300 companies signed on. Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) has already said it plans to use Facebook in order to connect bank employees in the coming year.

The Appeal

Many companies are interested in implementing Facebook at Work because it represents a way for them to roll out a new system that encourages collaboration with minimal training. As the majority of people already use the social site in their free time, the transition to Facebook at Work is expected to be relatively seamless.

Other similar services offered by firms like Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Salesforce.com Inc. CRM have struggled as employees took time to figure out the best way to use the new systems. Facebook is hoping that its presence in everyday life will help make adoption much smoother.